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American Miltary Musuem Collection Policy
='Library and Archive Collection Policy'= Founded in 1962, the museum is 100% funded out of entry fees, exhibits, contributions and volunteer labor. It operates as a Section 501©(3) California Non-Profit Educational Corporation. The museum library and archive is located in Whittier Narrows Recreational Area at 1918 Rosemead Boulevard, South El Monte, California. Over 178 military vehicles are on display in the 7.5-acre outdoor museum exhibits area. The American Society of Military History Museum receives donations in materials, labor, and money to maintain from local corporations. The museum and library are staffed by paid and volunteer personnel with over 15+ years of service. This level of ongoing commitment shows the breadth and depth of AMM partnerships with federal, local and stakeholders volunteers for the stakeholders. 'Library and Archive Profile and Mission' The Library and Archive is a supporting area within the American Society of Military History Museum. The collection maintains arguably one of the largest military research collections under civilian control and is accessible only by appointment. The museum, library and archive staff is 100% funded out of contributions and volunteer labor and has been a Section 501©(3) California Non-Profit Educational Corporation continuously since 1965. The collection is estimated at over 30,000 books, technical and field manuals, and 5,700 periodicals ranging from the civil war to the present day. The collection consists of Department of Defense materials such as maps and field manuals, defense contractor and veteran materials, photographs, blueprints, personal accounts and correspondence, video tapes, audio recordings, DVDs, facility plans, maps, posters, recruitment material, books, catalogs, bibliographic material, periodicals, and more. The American Society of Military History Museum Library and Archives strives to promote learning, discovery, and stakeholders involvement in the development, access, preservation, restoration, and maintenance of America’s military heritage. We serve people of all ages, backgrounds, and needs, as well as those who require unique information such as equipment and vehicle technical manuals, maps, and catalogs available at the museum library and archive. The library and archive seeks to instill the public with a love of learning about America’s military heritage while preserving the physical story and artifacts of America’s military history. To this end, the library and archive provides (a) research assistance, (b) collection, restoration, and preservation of military materials, © hands on job training and experience (d) educational outreach to public and private institutions and (e) telling the story of the great sacrifice required for a successful national defense. 'The Purpose of the Collection' This document is used to define the operations, goals, and management of the collection within the parameters of the American Society of Military History Museum’s mission, stakeholders, and those who support it. The collection seeks to provide users physical and digital access to our premier military heritage collection while executing three concurrent missions: (1) media acquisition, evaluation, cataloging, processing, maintenance, and shelving; (2) maintaining special collections of unique media and knowledge sources; (3) soliciting and processing library and archive media donations; all while following a clear, concise, correct, and coherent asset sustainment life cycle. 'The Collection' General. The collection is arranged according to the Library of Congress cutter numbers, which provides for a subject heading arrangement of the materials. but specific subject areas and subcollection may also be identified or shelved together. * Reference Collection: Materials directly related to the military * Children’s collection: juvenile military related fiction and non-fiction books. * Technical and Field Manuals and Department of Defense Publications 'Acquisition' Designated staff select the best material for collection mission and integrity and customer need. Unusual books must be assessed for selling or cataloging (signed books, collectors editions, etc.) A balanced collection will be based on the following criteria: Relevance, contribution, patron need, timeliness, depth of coverage/ scope, authority, quality (physical and educational/historical), special feature, value/cost, physical space, and maintenance. Note: all copies of Field Manuals, Technical Manuals, and other Department of Defense material will be retained. Donations. The library and archive will consider donation materials by the judgment of the Collection Management Team and once the material is deemed relevant and should be added to the collection, the donor must then read and complete the donation form, accepting the Library and Archive’s Policy and Procedures on donations. Weeding. The library and archives has limited space and resources for storage and processing so we strive to maintain the collection profile with up to date, quality material; the collection management team will weed material by assessing (1) Poor physical condition and cannot be mended. (2) Non-fiction and fiction material which is available within 20-mile radius. (3) Title is not of a relevant subject to collection. De-accessioned material will be disposed of by vendors who specialize in the disposal of books from non-profit libraries. Who we serve The American Military Museum stakeholders serves a diverse set of stakeholders who have a long tradition of the preservation of American military history. The individuals in the stakeholders reflect varying economic, racial, ethnic, and educational backgrounds but share a common interest in military history. Philosophy of Selection The collection seeks to provide users physical and digital access to our premier military heritage collection while executing three concurrent missions: (1) media acquisition, evaluation, cataloging, processing, maintenance, and shelving; (2) maintaining special collections of unique media and knowledge sources; (3) soliciting and processing library and archive media donations; all while following a clear, concise, correct, and coherent asset sustainment life cycle. Scope of the Collection The primary responsibility of the American Military Library and Archives is to serve stakeholders by providing a broad choice of materials to meet their informational, educational, cultural and recreational needs. Materials are selected to aid individuals, groups, and organizations attain a better understanding of military heritage. Budget and space limitations preclude the library and archives from duplicating the general and comprehensive collections that exist elsewhere in the San Gabriel Valley and the greater Los Angeles area. Access to these collections will be referred to other more appropriate organizations. The American Military Museum Library and Archive system is designed to provide access on an professional basis to the collections the American Military Library. Scope of the Library and Archives The American Military Museum Library serves the local stakeholders as a whole, in addition to serving as a resource for professional researchers and corporations. The size and scope of its collection attracts users from worldwide but the main purpose is to serve professional researchers. As an specialized library, the Library places major emphasis on the provision of information. It offers a strong reference collection that supports an extensive and in-depth research services. The Library aims at providing a comprehensive collection of materials relating to military history. Scholarly and highly technical or specialized materials are acquired, general materials are made available through other libraries with strong collections, such as the Los Angeles County Library. Responsibility for Selection The authority and responsibility for the selection of library materials rests ultimately with the Library Coordinator. Under his/her direction, selection is delegated to the professional library staff. All staff members and the general public are encouraged to recommend materials for consideration. Selection Criteria All materials, whether purchased or donated, are considered in terms of the criteria listed below. An item need not meet all of these standards in order to be added to the collection. Collection Development - Selection Criteria * Military interest * Significance or permanent value * Relevance of information * Accuracy * Treatment of subject * Reputation of author, publisher, producer or illustrator * Technical quality * Critical assessment * Cost and availability * Relationship to existing materials in collection Suggestions for Donation The library strongly encourages donations from the professional and academic stakeholders concerning the collection. A donation enables stakeholders to request that a particular item or subject be maintained by the library. All suggestions for donation are subject to the same selection criteria as other materials and are not automatically added to the collection. It is the library's intent that suggestions for donation be used to help the library in developing collections which serve the interests and needs of the stakeholders. Request for Reconsideration Stakeholders wishing to recommend the removal of a particular item in the library collection will not be accommodated. The Library Director and the library staff select materials in relation to the library's mission statement and the selection criteria of this collection development policy. Gifts The American Military Museum Library and Archive accepts gifts (including publisher's gift copies) for the library's collection that fall within needed subject categories, as determined by the Library Director and the staff. Gift additions must meet the same selection criteria as purchased materials and are subject to the following limitations. * The library retains unconditional ownership of the gift. * The library makes the final decision on the use or other disposition of the gift. * The library reserves the right to decide the conditions of display, housing and access to the materials. * Monetary gifts to the collection are welcome and may be designated as memorials. * Donors of the funds may suggest subjects or titles to be acquired with their donation, but the library reserves the right of final decision. * The library will accept for evaluation gift materials only in designated areas as listed below. All gifts must be in excellent condition. The Collection * Non-Fiction - The library aims at acquiring military related materials which provide a core of military knowledge. * Children's Collection - To encourage the preservation of American military heritage, the Children's Collection provides materials in a variety of formats to satisfy and stimulate the informational, educational, cultural, and recreational needs of the children. * Foreign Language Materials - The library maintains a collection of foreign language military materials. Resources include books, magazines, videos and sound recordings, in the languages used by the corresponding military, for example Japanese, German, Vietnamese, Chinese, etc. * Technical and Field Manuals - The library collects federal publications related to the military. Highly technical materials, for example those from the Department of Defense, are actively collected. In selecting new documents to add to the collection, emphasis is placed on the military and its operation. * Maps - The reference map collection includes maps of various countries, states, and major cities. An emphasis is placed on acquiring military maps. * Pamphlets - The Central and branch libraries maintain pamphlets on military topics to augment research services. The pamphlets provide information on topics of military interest and are also used to quickly locate difficult-to-find information on frequently requested topics. * Periodical Collection - The library's magazine collection provides a retrospective information aimed at meeting the research needs of the stakeholders. The collection also contains periodicals that serve the professional reading needs of the library staff. Periodicals supplement the book collection by providing additional information, covering current topics not yet available in books, and presenting a less in-depth treatment of a subject than is usually found in books. * Sound Recordings – Audio recordings are available at the Library. The music collection consists of works by military classical and contemporary composers, as well as military music. An emphasis is placed on acquiring recordings of military music, as well as military sounds and sound effects. * Textbooks - The American Military Museum Library acquires textbooks required for military curricula. * Videos and Film - The library collects military related films and videos. The library does not attempt to offer videos which are readily available elsewhere in the stakeholders. Emphasis is placed on military videos. Collection Development Scale The following definitions of collection intensity have been developed to provide guidelines for acquisition and evaluation of subject areas within the collection. They are used in analyzing the collection by Library of Congress cutter number and/or material type, so that subject strengths and collection emphases are clearly delineated. Research Collection - Acquire all available current and retrospective works for comprehensive coverage of a field. Retain all titles and holdings with an emphasis on preservation. Virtually no weeding should occur. Collection Maintenance Maintenance of the library's collection through constant re-evaluation by the library staff ensures its usefulness and relevancy to the stakeholders. This evaluation depends heavily on the staff's professional expertise in assessing the needs of the stakeholders and the content of the collection. Those materials determined to no longer be of value are withdrawn from the collection. Discarding Library Materials Library materials are discarded for one or more of the following reasons: * Fiction: Fictional accounts are not collected by the library * Irreparable items: Items are scanned or photographed for preservation if possible Replacement Replacement of materials withdrawn is not automatic. The decision to replace is influenced by: * Availability of copies in the system * Research interest * Adequacy of coverage in the subject area * Significance in subject area * Cost and availability Binding The decision to bind materials is made with consideration to the same factors involved in replacement. In addition, the following should influence the decision to bind: * Feasibility of binding * Cost of binding vs. cost of replacement * Uniqueness of information for research Revision of Policy This collection development policy will periodically be evaluated and revised as times and circumstances require.